Table o contents

As wi mony ither places in Calabrie, Pizzo claims auncient oreegins. The toun mey hae been foondit bi colonists frae an unkent steid in auncient Magna Grecia, but thare is currently nae documentar or archeological evidence tae support this. Consequently, the history o Pizzo begins in 1300 when the existence o a commonty o Basilian monks, a fort, an a fishin veelage is documentit. The name Pizzo (translatit either as bird's beak or projectin point) fits perfectly wi the tuffa promontory that juts oot intae the sea near the mooth o the river Angitola.

For centuries tuna wis trappit in the beaches aroond Pizzo, especially in the months o Mey an Juin. Despite fadin in importance ower time this activity continued till the 1970s in the Centofontane aurie, whaur nets wur spread tae corral tuna frae affshore. Ruins o the activity remain. The activity is now banned. The Piedigrotta an Prangi auries include some sea caves, an "the cave o the Saracen", awtho lairgely erodit the day, wis supposedly uised bi Saracen pirates tae store buity an fowk captured durin their raids alang the coast o Calabrie.

The umwhile Keeng o Naples Joachim Murat, who wis the brither-in-law o Napoleon, wis impreesoned for several days in the toun's Aragonese castle an then sentencit tae daith. He wis executit bi firin squad on 13 October 1815 in the main haw o the castle an wis possibly buriet in the kirk o San Giorgio. Paradoxically, the castle is nou cried Castello Murat. Inside the castle is the Provincial Museum Murat.

In 1783 the toun wis amaist destroyed by an yirdquauk, an it suffered some damage frae the same cause in 1905.